San Jose Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer isn't as bothered over the shot count in the Stanley Cup Final as one might think.
After the Pittsburgh Penguins came out on top in that category in all three games of the series so far, DeBoer admitted at a press conference Sunday his team could probably do a better job of getting in the shooting lanes to block some shots on net, but overall he's not worried about it.
"They shoot from everywhere, they slam the pucks from everywhere. So I think you do have to look at quality versus quantity," he told reporters. "I don't think it's as easy as looking at the shot clock and saying, 'You're getting dominated because they have 40 shots and you have 26.' I don't think the game's that simple."
While there does exist a wide gap in total shots over three games, the total attempts are much closer, as is the goal margin.
Team | Shots | Attempts | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Penguins | 113 | 202 | 7 |
Sharks | 74 | 186 | 6 |
(Courtesy: HockeyStats.ca)
And while the Penguins did have a 42-26 advantage on Game 3, San Jose had the edge in attempts (79-76), which speaks to DeBoer's call for his team to jam up the shooting lines in the way Pittsburgh was able to do Saturday.
Finally, DeBoer added the shot difference may be more about storyline than anything else.
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